The Effectiveness of Bibliotherapy on Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Women Referring to Shiraz Municipality Cultural Center, Iran

The bibliotherapy is to use the technique of reading to guide the individual and the group. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the bibliotherapy on stress, anxiety, and depression in women in Shiraz City, Iran. This was a semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and control group. The statistical population included all women clients (60) referred to Shiraz Municipality Cultural Center in the first six months of the year 2018, and the statistical sample included women who said they had anxiety, stress, or depression. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 items (DASS-21) was completed by participants. Among the women who had a stress, anxiety, and depression score of higher than the normal (score of 7), 30 were selected and then randomly divided into two groups of 15 (experimental and control). The experimental group, received educations for 8 weeks, and then the questionnaire was implemented in both groups. Group therapy significantly reduced depression, stress, and anxiety in women referring to Shiraz Municipality Cultural Center. Librarians and psychologists together with the use of bibliotherapy techniques can be used not only to treat depression, stress and anxiety, but also to treat other diseases.